Emerald Institute For Troubled Youths
by EthanThranOnceAndFutureKing
Summary: It's a correctional facility to help troubled youths learn skills so they can contribute back to society. Shadow thinks its hell until he meets a silent boy who helps him see a different side to life and to move on fro his own demons. But can Shadow help Sonic move on as well or will he be trapped inside his silent world forever?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everybody! My name is Ethan and this is my first story, AHHH! As you can see I am very excited and a little bit odd but hey, aren't we all. Now just a heads up, this story does go into mental disorders, has mentions of suicide and traumatic events and other such horrid stuff so if that stuff triggers you do NOT proceed.**

 **On a lighter note, this story mainly follows Shadow and kind of jumps all over the place (like me) but I hope you all enjoy it immensely cause I've had a lot of fun writing it. Enjoy and feel free to ask em anything, I don't bite.**

The walls are a sickeningly light blue colour, a colour that speaks of helplessness and defeat. At least, that's how Shadow views the colour. The teenager glared at the offending walls as if it was their fault that he'd ended up here in the first place. There is a kindly woman standing before him, a rabbit whose name tag reads "Miss Vanilla Hopson" who is smiling in an almost patronizing way as she leads him through the reception area away from the grumpy social workers who had been tasked with dumping him at this facility. Shadow can honestly say that he isn't sad to see them go, they had acted like they constantly had a metal pole suck up their rear-end which had greatly aggravated the eighteen-year-old. Shadow snuck one last look at the two of them who were glaring daggers which in turn had the ebony hedgehog flipping them the bird to express just how much he was going to miss them.

"Shadow, that isn't very nice dear." Miss Vanilla had lost her smile and was now giving him a disappointed look, something that didn't faze Shadow at all. He just shrugged, blood red eyes flicking to the side where he could see a hallway with equally light blue walls with multiple doors on either side. Signs hung above each door labeling them such as 'Maths' and 'English'. Again Shadow glared at the walls and the doors hating them and everything they stood for as he clutched his ratty shoulder bag tighter. It wasn't much but it was all the young teen had left.

"Come along dear and I'll show you to your room." Miss Vanilla sighed while placing a gentle hand on his shoulder causing Shadow to flinch violently away from her. She wilted slightly at his reaction but didn't push for which he was grateful for.

It seemed the boy's wing of the facility didn't follow the same colour scheme as the education section though it wasn't much of an improvement. The walls were a soft cream colour while dark navy blue carpet covered the floor. Like the education, section doors lined the hallway walls and they too were labeled but instead of subjects, they were names. Shadow looked at a few of the names seeing how these people were going to be his new housemates. "Knuckles" stood out in bright red letters on a door that looked like it had been punched a good few times while a door labeled "Vector" had music notes drawn all over it. The ebony teen blinked when he saw one door with the name "Scourge" on it that also had a clipboard attached as well. The words _'High-risk patient – history of self-harm'_ jumped out at him before they were past that door and before one with his own name plastered on it.

"You'll find everything you need in there, bathroom, bed, desk and if you're good we might even allow you to have a TV as well. Dinner will be served in about half an hour but I'll send one of the boys in to show you around the wing before hand." Miss Vanilla stated. Shadow just grunted, walking into what was now his room without so much as a backward glance.

The room itself was nice, plain but nice. When pressing down on the bed Shadow was satisfied to find it much more comfortable than the ones at the shelter home. Deciding to get settled in seeing how he was going to be here for a while, Shadow slipped his shoulder bag off and began to unpack. It really wasn't much, a few warm jumpers, spare gloves, and socks, an old stuffed rabbit that had once been blue but was now grey and a framed photo. The young hedgehog paused when pulling out the photo, dull rubies staring at the smiling human girl with golden hair with a disconnected sense of longing. Her eyes were screwed up tight as she laughed, an arm looped around an equally laughing Shadow. A gloved finger traced over her face, tears welling up in their owner's eyes before quickly being brushed away as the photo was set down with care on the bedside table.

Shadow tried not to think about Maria too much because when he did he remembered _that_ night and when he remembered that night he remembered what had led him to be placed within the walls of 'Emerald Institute for Troubled Youths'. An Institute, an institute for young Mobians and sometimes humans who came from troubled pasts, suffered mentally and were heading down the road to nowhere. Shadow sighed long and hard as he pondered what had become of his life.

A knock at the door stopped his pondering though and caused an angry scowl to appear. Shadow considered not answering but then he'd probably have to deal with Miss Vanilla or some other adult which he really doesn't want. Repressing the urge to give a long suffering groan Shadow all but drags his feet to the door, opening it with purpose and gazing into the light blue eyes of a red armadillo with yellow ears, muzzle, and tummy. They stand straight backed and around their neck hangs a lanyard with a button of some kind on it.

"My names Mighty and I'm to show you around and then take you down to the mess hall for dinner." They hold out their hand, posture still so stiff that Shadow fears they may just snap right then and there.

"Shadow." Deciding to humor the poor sod Shadow reached out and shakes their hand, blinking when the kid shakes their joined hands up and down four times, counting two seconds between each shake.

"I'll take you to the common room first where most of the other boys are right now and then show you the med station where the night nurse stays as well. After that, we'll go to the study/computer room before heading down to the mess hall." Mighty talks and acts like a military soldier, operating on a strict plan of attack that Shadow can somewhat see why he's stuck in this place too.

"How long have you been here?" Shadow knows that most of the other kids (inmates? Patients?) are going to be very touchy about why they are here so he decides to go slow at first. Mighty sends him a side glance, still so stiff, but he doesn't look offended which is a positive.

"Two years. Originally in for severe paranoia and now being treated for severe ODC as well." He shrugs one shoulder, hands tapping a constant repetitive rhythm on his hip. His response has Shadow pausing seeing how he thought the other would be guarded as to why he'd been admitted to the facility. It leaves him floundering for a moment, wondering if he should mention why he was here or not. Mighty doesn't look like he's expecting a response but it still feels like he is.

"PTSD and Intermittent Explosive Disorder." He finally mumbles, watching as Mighty blinks before a small smile tugs at his lips.

"Vector has PTSD too. That's him over there." Mighty points and wow, they were already at the common room. It was filled with soft arm chairs, bean bags and even a hammock with a large flat screen TV mounted on the far wall. A small coffee table sits in the center of the room while a mini fridge filled with drinks sat in the corner. Following Mighty's finger, Shadow stared at the large bulky teen, a green crocodile who had a pair of headphones over his head. "He listens to music very loudly to help him cope with his anxiety and fend off flashbacks."

Ebony nods in understanding, he, after all, carried a glass cut green emerald that Maria had given him on his sixteenth birthday. It's weight and smooth surface helped sooth him when things got a little too much.

"See the purple Chameleon next to him? That's Espio and I'll warn you now not to sneak up on him. He reacts violently when startled cause he was trained by a secret organization when he was young to kill people." Mighty explained. Part of Shadow felt uncomfortable that the other was telling him all the other kids problems and issues but at the same time was thankful for the warnings. At least it meant he wouldn't accidentally set someone off.

"The red echidna in the hammock is Knuckles. His family went missing when he was very young leaving him with trust, abandonment and anger issues. He's kind of pissed cause the staff has taken his scented candles away cause he punched a hole through the Math class room wall yesterday." Shadow could most certainly see that the echidna would be a destructive force. Large spikes could be seen protruding from his fits that looked like they could deal a lot of damage.

"The young fox kit beside him with two tails is Miles but everyone calls him Tails. He was bullied pretty bad at his old school cause of his extra tail and was also dumped at an orphanage by his parents when he was a baby. He was sent here after he planted a bomb under his old school which thankfully didn't go off." Now that had Shadow doing a double take. The little fox was probably only twelve years old and looked like he couldn't hurt a fly. To hear he'd tried to blow up his last school didn't fill Shadow with confidence.

"Finally the yellow flying squirrel is Ray and he's my best mate. He's here due to extreme anxiety that's come from watching his father beat his mother. He has a stutter but he's a good kid once you get to know him." Mighty did smile at this, a true full blown smile as he waved at his friend who, while waving back shrunk away a little when seeing Shadow. Ebony didn't hold it against him, after what he'd been through Shadow was surprised he didn't have other issues.

They left the common room before any of the others could notice them as Mighty was determined to keep on track. Thus they walked to the very end of the hallway that made up the boys wing where the nurse's station sat. Inside was a desk, chair, and bed on which sat a light green hedgehog with light orange eyes wearing an orange vest.

"Sup Mighty, showing the new dude around I see." The hedgehog was probably in his early twenties if Shadow had to guess. He had a fanny pack wrapped around his middle with a pair of drumsticks in it and had two gold hoop earrings in his left ear. "Names Manic and I switch between being a night nurse and a counselor. If you ever have any problems feel free to come see me."

"Whatever." Shadow huffed but Manic just smiled at his response.

They moved on to the study/computer room that held five desktop computers and a shelf full of books of varying description. No one was in there so Mighty summed up that the other boys were still in their rooms. With the tour of the wing over Mighty led them down stairs to the mess hall where all meals were served. Everyone else was making their way down or was already there. Because there weren't many students/patients at the institute there was one big table for the kids to sit at and one for the staff members. Shadow quickly noted that the girls were already seated, gaps between them for the boys already in place.

"Come on, I'll introduce you to Blaze and Silver. Blaze is the purple cat and ironically she's a pyromaniac who got sent here after setting the fire station on fire. Silver is the hedgehog next to her and he suffers from delusions to the point where he threw all the cars on his street at his neighbor with his telekinetic powers." Mighty said quickly before leading them over. The girl, Blaze gave Shadow a quick once over before going back to stiring her peas around her plate while Silver twitched nervously beside her, golden gaze jumping all over the place. "Hey guys, this is Shadow. Came in just a few hours ago."

Blaze looked up again before giving a soft smile. "Welcome to hell then minus the fire…unless I have some say in it."

"I swear to god if you set fire to our wing again I'm going to murder you." A pink hedgehog in a pink dress snapped while flicking her spoon at the cat. Beside her sat a very similar pink hedgehog wearing a white shirt and yellow skirt.

"I could always steal her match sticks again." A white bat mumbled softly as she scooped up some mashed potatoes.

"Y-y-you not m-mean to s-s-steal R-Rouge." A very timid voice spoke up as Ray slipped into the seat beside Mighty. The little squirrel avoided all and any eye contact as he pulled his tray of food towards him. The bat, Rouge, smiled softly at his words.

"What if I was to steal an extra dessert for you?" She asked making him blush brightly and duck his head.

"S-s-still not right." He mumbled but didn't exactly tell her not to.

"Rouge is a kleptomaniac." Mighty whispered as they all began to eat. "The two pink hedgehogs are twin sisters Amy and Rosey. Amy has extensive mood swings that can make her very violent while Rosey is delusional to the point where she kidnapped another kid from her school."

"Remind me to lock my door at night then," Shadow muttered back which made the armadillo snort softly.

"See that green hedgehog at the end of the table? That's Scourge. He's got manic bipolar and has attempted suicide a few times and has also tried to stab his father which is what eventually got him sent here." Shadow looked at the other teen who was glaring daggers at his pre cut steak seeing how he wasn't allowed near knives. He would be another one to avoid for the near future.

"That's pretty much everyone except…" Mighty trailed off while all chattered died down as the mess hall doors slammed open. Standing there was the Principle of the school Maximillian Acorn, a stern faced chipmunk. He was holding the arm of a very skinny boy, a blue hedgehog with bright green eyes who did not look happy. Beside the boy was also the biggest fucking dog Shadow had ever seen. It was a grey Irish Wolfhound with burning yellow eyes that stood as tall as the boy.

"Sonia!" Maximillian bellowed making the kid flinch which in turn had the dog nosing at his face.

From the staff table came a magenta coloured hedgehog with light blue eyes. She looked both relieved, worried and angry all at the same time as she came to a stop before the two Mobians and one dog. "What has he done this time Sir?"

"Caught him trying to hack into the school's security system to set off the evacuation alarm." Max huffed before releasing the boy who walked up to the girl Sonia and allowed her to lead him to the table, the dog following along faithfully.

"That's Sonic." Mighty finally spoke up though softly so as not to draw attention to them. "He's been here a long time from what I know. He's got ADHD and is a voluntary mute. The nurses think he went through something traumatic as a child which is why he doesn't talk. The dog is his therapy dog."

"Why was he hacking into the school's security system?" Shadow asked because honestly why would someone even bother.

"I guess it comes with his ADHD. He's really smart but gets bored easily. He's always causing trouble. Last week he rigged the intercoms to play barbie girl for five hours straight." Mighty chuckled at the memory while Shadow just shook his head. He was clearly surrounded by insane people so he'd probably fit right in.

Dinner went off without much more drama except for when Scourge yanked off Vector's headphones sending the reptile into a fit of rage, throwing his tray of food across the room which in turn triggered Silver into a screaming fit sending everyone else's trays flying too. Throughout it all Shadow just sat there fighting down the urge to start screaming too. The Staff swooped down on them in seconds, restraining Vector and removing Silver to another room. It was certainly an interesting first day but it could have gone worse. With that thought in mind, Shadow flopped down onto his bed and dreading the following morning where he would be attending classes with the rest of the nut jobs he'd met at dinner.

 **So as you can see practically the whole Sonic cast from the games, TV shows and comics is here and I've given them their own litter stories or duties. You wouldn't believe the amount of research I've had to do for each of the students and their disorders. But I guess that shows dedication.**

 **Like I said before feel free to ask me any questions, leave a review, send me a PM and let me know how I've done for my first story! See you little ankle bitters next time!**


	2. We're all pulling at each other's seams

**Hey! I m here with Chapter two and I am so happy to see that some of you really like this idea of mine. A big thanks to IsdR2017 and King Needlemouse for your reviews. To answer Needlemouse's question, yes this will be basically a bunch of one shots but the story will also have an** **overarching plot. The whole thing is basically following Shadow as he goes through the facility and tries to move on from his traumatic past while also helping others with theirs.**

 **Now I hope you all enjoy this new chapter and I'll see you all next time. Until then, Ethan out!**

Classes weren't as terrible as Shadow first thought they would be. By far his favorite was English where they were studying a book called the Crucible. He liked his teacher was well, a young human girl called Hope Kintobor who while young was still able to keep the class in line. He ignored the part of his brain that hissed at him that the reason he liked her so much was her close resemblance to Maria.

Shadow was also surprised that he'd actually made friends with the other teens. He spoke with Mighty and Ray a lot during the evenings as well as Knuckles and Tails. He was still wary about the fox kit, wondering if he still had the urge to blow up schooling facilities but he seemed like a pretty gentle sort of soul so Shadow decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. He had also grown close with Rouge and Blaze. Silver was there too, mostly clinging to Blaze and mumbling under his breath but Shadow found he didn't really mind the other's presence either. He still avoided Scourge and Roey like the plague because since coming to Emerald Institute they had either caused a scene at dinner three times and had caused their Math class to evacuate when Scourge somehow acquired a knife and attacked their teacher.

Right now Shadow was lying sprawled across one of the soft couches in the common room while Knuckles and Tails played a video game of some description. Mighty was sadly spending the night in the medical wing after suffering a massive mental breakdown in the middle of history and Ray had locked himself in his room as a result. Vector and Espio were also there, the crocodile with his eyes closed as the loud music washed over him while Espio sat meditating on the floor. Apparently, his therapist said it would help if he cleared his mind before going to bed. The ebony hedgehog had also been told to start meditating before bed but had yet to partake in the exercise.

Shadow sighed, wondering if he'd still be able to escape this hell hole when a sudden weight rolled over him and onto the floor. The teen gave a startled yelp, sitting up and looking down at the floor where a slightly smaller blue hedgehog sat giggling softly while a massive Irish Wolfhound materialized beside them.

"The hell do you think you're doing?" Shadow snapped. He expected the kid to flinch away from him like everyone else did when he sounded angry. Instead, the kid gave him a vicious smile before reaching out to grab his hand which sent bolts of electrical shocks up his arm. Shadow shouted, yanking his arm away while the younger boy tumbled backward in silent laughter. Ebony snarled wanting nothing more than to reach out and strangle the other but a low growl from the hulking dog that loomed over the other made him rethink his options.

"Sonic, what have you gone and done now?" Knuckles shouted. It seemed all the noise had gained the attention of the other boys much to Shadow's annoyance. The ruby red echidna was glaring at the fifteen-year-old blue hedgehog who just huffed back. "Have you been ripping apart the computer labs again to make inventions?"

Sonic smiled, full and bright before lifting his right hand allowing Knuckles and Shadow to see the little contraption attached to the glove with a small pad at the center that was still sparking a little. Shadow wanted to be angry at the other, wanted to be angry at the unprovoked attack, but he couldn't help but be impressed that Blue had made the little device from a few scrap parts and stolen items.

"What all the yelling about in here for?" The voice made Sonic cringe while Shadow rolled his eyes. Manic stood in the doorway, drumsticks held loosely in one hand while the other was placed on his hip. The night nurse/shrink only had to take one look at Shadow's slightly burnt glove and the sparking device on Sonic's hand to understand the situation. The green hedgehog scowled, stepping forward and not even blinking when the large dog by Sonic's side growled.

"Come on then little dude. Sonia and Sally will need to hear about this." Manic sighed. Sonic puffed out his cheeks, hands suddenly moving about in intricate ways that baffled Shadow yet seemed to make perfect sense to Manic who gave a tight lipped smile.

"Sorry buddy but its gotta be done. Maybe if you stopped trying to wreck havoc then you wouldn't have to make these trips?" Manic suggested which just earned him a small scowl from the green-eyed teen. The group of three quickly left the room, heading down to reception where either Sally or Sonia would be on duty for the night shift. Shadow watched them go, a deep frown set on his face while the pain in his hand slowly ebbed away. Knuckles, who had stepped back once Manic had shown up looked him over critically before smiling softly.

"Don't think too hard on it. Sonic does that to all the students and teachers. It's nothing personal." He muttered.

"I don't care if he does it to everyone. I don't appreciate being suddenly attacked for no reason." Shadow growled while his ears flattened against his skull. To his surprise, Knuckles and Tails who had wandered over during the discussion laughed. "What?"

"You may not see the reason but to Sonic there is a perfectly good reason for why he did what he did." Tails smiled.

Ebony blinked for a few seconds before scowling. "That makes no sense."

"Maybe to you. Sonic has a certain way of seeing the world. You'll learn it eventually but until then try not to take things too hard unless you want Chaos on your back." Tails cautioned.

"Who?"

"Chaos, his therapy dog." Knuckles supplied.

Now that had Shadow cracking a small smile. "Of course the dog's name is Chaos."

Chaos it seems was very gentle when Sonic was in a relaxed mood and not in any danger. The great hulking dog seemed to have taken a shine to Shadow much to the older hedgehog's confusion and Sonic's curiosity. Because of this Shadow found himself spending more and more time with the somewhat troubled teen who delighted in causing all manner of mischief. His latest escapade had been setting off all the sprinklers throughout the buildings except in the dorms. Shadow was sitting in his room when the constantly moving ball of energy burst in with his dog followed by the announcement over the intercom of what was happening.

"Do you have something against the staff or do you just like being a little shit?" Shadow asked from his bed where he was reading their new book for English, Silver Stallion. Sonic who was curled up on the floor beside Chaos simply shrugged while fiddling with a small electronic device. Shadow narrowed his eyes but didn't press the matter. He still wasn't very good at sign language so they had a limited communication between them. Instead, ebony elected to peer at the little device blue was fiddling with. It didn't look like much at all, just a bunch of wires, circuit boards and metal parts that Shadow had no hope of understanding. Ruby eyes watched as gloved covered fingers danced across the device, attaching wires and screwing in small nuts and bolts.

"That's not gonna blow up is it?" Shadow wouldn't put it past the other to make an explosive. He blinked when Sonic gave a breathy laugh, shoulders twitching before he settled down and gave a small shake of the head. Shadow was still a little wary, not sure how much trust he could put into someone who had been admitted to the Emerald Institute. Then again, he was here so he couldn't really talk.

"So what's that thing meant to do then?" Shadow cast aside his book having lost all interest in it a while ago. Sonic sent him a side glance before attaching a final wire and closing the small case. Quickly flicking a switch on the outside revealed that the device was a sort of night-light thing. However, the light wasn't your standard yellow. Instead, it shifted from soft pale blues to bright greens and glowing purples. Shadow couldn't help but be entranced by the sight. He jumped when the younger male thrust the little contraption into his hands, the smile never wavering as he quickly left the room with Chaos in toe.

It wouldn't be until lights out that Shadow would wonder if Sonic had known he hadn't been sleeping well because of how dark his room had been, as dark as the ally-way he'd been down when Maria had been shot and her life-blood had stained his white gloves red. Perhaps Sonic had known but Shadow wasn't going to say anything. Instead, he placed his new saving grace on his bed side table and allowed the multitude of colours dancing on his walls to lull him into a peaceful dreamless sleep.

 **I really enjoy writing the interactions between Shadow and Sonic because of the language barrier between them. It's so interesting to write a character who doesn't communicate through words but mainly uses facial expressions and gestures. I'm also enjoying how I sneak Chaos into the picture, the idea of him being this overprotective giant puppy is just so appealing!**

 **As always let me know what you think and PM if you have any questions.**


	3. I'm not sane but I'm neither is anyone e

**So I am super hyped to see that more and more people are enjoying this little treasure I've cooked up. I am honestly surprised that so many people like it. Big thanks to ToxicSpeka, Mitha Sentro and King Needlemouse for their reviews as well. And yes Needlemouse, I will be writing about the other characters alongside Shadow and Sonic. It's actually really fun to write each of them with their own little quirks. Anyways, I think I've rambled long enough. ON WITH THE SHOW!**

Group therapy. God how Shadow hated it. He'd managed nearly a whole month without having the need to be placed in the special sessions but of course, he'd blown his chance at what little normality he had. Shadow wasn't even really sure what had happened. One moment he'd been sitting in history listening to Sonia talk about the Inca Empire and then suddenly he was being held down by Manic and Knuckles. Apparently when Sonia had changed the slide on the power point to an image of an ancient Inca carving that depicted a human bleeding out Shadow had lost it, throwing his desk across the room and attacking anyone he could get his hands on. He'd Punched Vector in the jaw and tried to strangle Rosey when the pink hedgehog had started yelling about how he was a secret government spy sent to kill them all.

Shadow had been excluded from classes for three days which had left a bitter taste in his mouth. He enjoyed the classes because they helped keep him grounded in the knowledge that this wasn't a prison but a place of learning and healing. With classes taken away the placed quickly began to feel like an oppressive constraint once more. The staff had decided to make a bargain with the sulking teen then. He'd be allowed back into his classes if he attended the group therapy sessions once a week. Shadow glared at the door of the Therapy room. The teen didn't want to go but he also wanted to attend classes again especially when tomorrow was English with Hope and they were going to be looking over how Shakespeare was the innovator of slang.

"This is stupid," Ebony growled before pushing the door open.

The room wasn't like what Shadow had been expecting. There weren't hard-back chairs set up in a circle or the stereotypical soothing and self-esteem picture hanging on the walls. Instead, there were bean bags and plush couches scattered around the room while a large bookcase sat off to the side. The room also had a bay-window with a very comfortable looking cushioned seat running along it. Sprawled along the couch were Knuckles and Rouge while Tails sat happily on a bean bag beside them. Blaze and Silver had claimed the bay-window and were quietly whispering back and forth while Sonic sat by the bookcase with a very large heavy tome sitting on his lap. Sitting on one of the arm chairs was Sally Acorn who was watching all the kids with an almost fond look to her face.

"Glad you decided to join us Shadow, please take a seat and we'll get started." Sally smiled warmly at him which just made the grumpy hedgehog roll his eyes. With the options narrowed down, Shadow ended up sitting on a bean bag that was near Knuckles and Rouge but also a few feet away from where Sonic sat. the blue hedgehog hadn't even look up at his appearance while the others had at least stopped what they were doing and were now looking at Sally expectantly.

"So, does anyone have anything they'd like to share? Perhaps something that has happened this week that they are proud of or maybe something they want to improve?" Sally asked. It was silent for a moment before Rouge sat up straighter.

"Well I haven't stolen anything in two days and I did give Amy back her Diamon earrings." The white bat shrugged, looking down at the ground while clenching her fists.

"That good to hear Rouge. If you keep this up we may even stop the weekly searches of your room." Sally praised the teen who looked slightly hopeful at this bit of news. "Who's next then?"

"I got an A in my physics exam." Silver spoke up before jumping and sending a glare to his right. "No one asked you."

Shadow wasn't even surprised anymore by the other hedgehog's random outbursts of seemingly talking to thin air. After almost a month of living at the Institute, he was used to all the oddities that the other students had. It went on like that, each students saying something they were happy about besides Blaze who complained about the kitchen staff putting out the fire she'd started on the stove. When it came down to Just Shadow and Sonic both were refusing to look at anyone in the room.

"What about you Shadow, got anything to share?" Sally prompted.

"No. I'm only here so I can start attending classes again," Shadow muttered.

"But you do understand why we pulled you from them don't you?" The chipmunk pressed and Shadow could feel his frustration starting to build.

"Because I attacked people." He spat back at her.

Sally didn't even blink at his aggressive response, simply nodded in agreement. "It's standard safety procedures. We have to make sure you won't pose a danger to the staff, students or yourself before we can let you back into the classroom."

"Whatever." Shadow huffed while turning away hoping she was done with him. Sadly though it wasn't his lucky day.

"Would you like to talk about what set you off Shadow? Talking about these kinds of things can help sometimes."

It was like there was a spring slowly coiling up tighter and tighter inside his chest. If Shadow really thought about it he might even say his anger and violent outbursts were the repressed feelings towards Maria's murder trying to break through. But he didn't think about it because he didn't want to think about it. "I have nothing to say."

"What happened is nothing to be ashamed of Shadow if that's what's worrying you. Everyone here has things that they can't control." He knew she was trying to be comforting but all she was achieving, in the end, was setting his teeth more on edge.

"I don't recall saying anything about being ashamed of my actions so if you would kindly stop making assumptions I don't wish to talk about this anymore." Shadow hissed while digging his fingers into the armrests of the chair. The pressure and force he was applying helped to relieve some of the tension inside his body but the ebony male wasn't sure how much more control he had left.

"If you're gonna throw the chair like you did the table may I suggest aiming at the ceiling fan. I never liked the colour of it." Knuckles mumbled from the couch which caused most of the other teens to snicker into their hands.

"What did the ceiling fan do to you?" Tails spoke up looking offended on the ceiling fan's account.

"It wasn't green." Rouge laughed knowingly while Knuckles flushed.

"You have a problem with my favorite colour?" The echidna snapped while the bat flipped over the back of the couch in case she needed to beat a hasty retreat.

"Not at all Knuckie, it just doesn't mean everything has to be green." Rouge winked.

"I resent that. I feel attacked!" Knuckles shouted while pointing a gloved hand at Rouge who just ducked away to another arm chair.

"Then fight back." Tails pointed out.

"Fighting isn't the answer to everything Miles and you know it." Sally scolded. The fox tensed up, twin tails fluffing up in agitation. Shadow watched as the other kids looked between the fox and chipmunk as if waiting for an explosion to go off. It never came because suddenly Chaos was there licking at the Fox kits face who gave a squeak of surprise that turned into soft giggles. Turning found Sonic suddenly at attention, book lying forgotten beside him while those bright green eyes glared daggers at Sally. It was an odd look on his face of that Shadow was certain. The older hedgehog had seen Blue smile, pout, scowl and even look guilty but he'd never seen him look properly angry before.

Sally for her part did look a little guilty but gave the blue hedgehog a meaningful glance at had the silent teen averting his gaze and shrugging one shoulder. It was always fascinating to Shadow to watch these silent forms of communication. Sign language was one thing but the way Sonic was able to convey what he wanted to say just through facial expressions and body language was amazing.

"Have you anything to share Sonic?" Sally asked once Chaos had stopped licking Tails and everyone had calmed down. Said hedgehog just looked at Sally, hands twitching as if he were going to sign before falling still by his side. Those green eyes moved from the pale blue ones to blood red and Shadow was reminded of their little meetings. Ever since he'd been gifted with the nightlight Shadow had found himself with a regular visitor to his room in the form of the blue one. Those visits could be considered a good thing to mention to Sally but the message was clear in those eyes. Sonic wouldn't mention anything unless Shadow wanted him too.

Being given a choice in a place where most decisions were made for you left the elder reeling for a moment. Shadow considered his options. If Sonic mentioned the meetings then the staff might become very nosy, wanting to know what the two of them talked about, how these little meet ups were good for the two of them and so on. The thought of having their privacy invaded like that sent a bolt of anger through Shadow and was what drove him to give a small shake of the head. Sonic blinked once before turning back to Sally. Blue lifted his right hand and with his thumb and first two fingers made a closing motion with them. The simple sign for no.

Sally eyed Sonic for a moment, weighing up her options before deciding to let sleeping bears lie. Turning back to the rest of the teens she sighed tiredly, hand rubbing at her closed eyes as she did so. "It's clear that none of you are gonna offer much more up today so I might bring this session to a close in a moment."

"There's a but in there somewhere," Blaze spoke up while Silver jittered beside her.

"There's a but in every sentence. Can't trust anyone." The white hedgehog muttered which sent Knuckles and Tails into a silent giggling fit. Sally sent them a warning look causing them to send her innocent looking smiles.

"Well, now that you bring it up, yes there is a but." The chipmunk glared around at them. "I'm giving you all a bit of homework."

"What? Sally, you're a tyrant!" Knuckles cried.

"We get enough homework from our normal classes." Rouge groaned into the couch.

"Then this shouldn't be too hard for you all." Sally smiled back at them. "I want you all to start keeping a diary or journal where you can write down any thoughts and feelings you have that you might not be comfortable sharing with me or everyone else. You'd be surprised how much this simple task can help you."

Shadow rolled his eyes feeling like this task was going to be pointless and time wasting for him. He just wanted to get out of this room and go back to his classes. This pointlessness was why he'd tried so hard to avoid the group therapy sessions and now here he was stuck attending them once a week. These sessions were surely going to be the longest part of his weeks.

A tug on his arm caused those blood red eyes to glance down into sparkling emerald green ones. Sonic smiled gently before jerking his head to the door. When Shadow snuck a glance at the group he could see them arguing with Sally effectively keeping her busy. With a small smirk, Shadow followed the younger hedgehog and dog out of the room, the three of them making a mad dash back to Ebony's room where they could enjoy the peace and quiet for a while.

"I take it you're a bit of a master of slipping unnoticed from rooms," Shadow commented to which Sonic gave a wink. Shadow shook his head before taking note of the book Sonic held, the one he'd been reading in the therapy room. Looking closer found it was a book filled with every Brother's Grimm story. The fairy tales had been one of Shadow's favorites growing up with their dark nature and exciting story lines. It had been years since he'd read one or even seen one in a hard copy. "At least you have good taste in literature."

Sonic look confused for a moment before he smiled, holding the book out to the elder male which once again left Shadow speechless. This kid was unbelievably kind to others yet could cause unparallel amounts of trouble when he wanted to. Taking the book slowly Shadow watched as Sonic gave Chaos a small pet on the head before leaving the room. As the younger was leaving Shadow suddenly wondered if he had made his first real friend in this hell hole of a place.

So maybe he wasn't completely ready to return to his classes but Shadow still refused to see where he was in the wrong. So what if he'd smashed his chair over Amy's head in a fit of unexplainable rage, she had it coming. Or at least, that's what Shadow liked to tell himself. The stupid girl had been bothering everyone, her mood swings causing her to be extremely happy one moment and constantly cuddling up into people's personal space only to burst into hysterical tears the next minute. It was enough to drive anyone insane but the breaking point had been when she'd taken the book Sonic had given him and thrown it to the floor in a fit of anger, screaming at him about how it was his own fault he was here and in turn unintentionally blaming him for Maria's death. The chair had been in his hand quicker than one could blink which meant no one could stop him from smashing it over the girls head.

Ebony sighed long and hard, knees drawn to his chest while his hands ran over the smooth glass cut emerald he held, the motions soothing away any negative thoughts and emotions. Glancing up found Hope sitting at her desk doing paper work. It had been Shadow's wish to sit in the staff room with Hope for the rest of the day instead of spending it alone in his room. Perhaps it was the childish thought that the girl would bring some comfort with her appearance that drove the teen to her side. Either way, Shadow knew it was unhealthy to compare her to his dead friend.

"What did you do this time?" The voice was familiar but one Shadow hadn't heard for at least a week. Turning found Mighty sitting underneath Manic's desk while his hands fiddled with a piece of string.

"Cause physical harm to another student," Shadow muttered. "What about you? Haven't seen you in class for the last week."

"I may or may not have barricaded myself in my room because I thought the government was spying on me and am now under observation till my paranoia dies down." The Armadillo shrugged with a small smile.

"Does that mean you'll be attending the weekly torture?" Shadow asked while ignoring the look Hope sent him.

"If you mean group Therapy then yes. Haven't been to a session for months but Sonia and Sally think it will be good for me to start again." Mighty sounded bitter as he spoke which made Shadow feel a little better in the knowledge that he wasn't the only one who resented attending the sessions.

"You guys make it sound like we actually do torture you in those sessions." Manic snorted from his desk where he was turning one of his documents into a paper airplane.

"Putting a group of highly unstable teens into one room and forcing them to talk about their feelings? Sounds like torture to me." Mighty snapped back while kicking at the hedgehog's legs. The green male didn't mad at the teen's actions, he simply smiled while gently nudging him back.

Yeah, Shadow will admit, he's not entirely sane but looking at the students and some of the staff at the institute he could safely say no of them were sane either.

 **So as we can see Shadow is still struggling in fitting and settling in with the others. His disorder also isn't making things easier. I knew right from the start he'd have PTSD because I strongly believe that the real conon Shadow would have it from seeing Maria's death. The Intermittent Explosive Disorder was something I added at the very last second but I felt it would fit his character really well. Tell me what you think and I shall see you all next time.**


	4. Shape my words and hear my hands

**So here is Chapter 4 but I will warn you I may not be able to update as regularly. I just got my first job so I'll be really focused on that and I am going through some personal stuff as well that will take up some of my time. Now as usual, a big thank you to IsdR2017, Lilly, and the Guest who reviewed the last chapter. Reading your reviews helps to give me motivation to keep going with this story.**

 **Hope you all enjoy this chapter and I shall see you all next time then.**

Shadow stood in line. It was the weekend meaning no classes which meant no distraction from the reasons behind his placement in this facility. He stood with the other boys outside Manic's night office waiting for their morning medication, something that felt a bitter taste on Shadow's tongue. Taking medication felt like admitting that something was wrong with himself, that he truly deserved to be in this place. In front of him, Espio fingered a paper throwing star he'd made in art class that seemed to bring him comfort and disturb the staff. Perhaps the other boy had been trained how to use the real ones when he'd been with that secret organization. The thought didn't bring Shadow any comfort.

When it came for Shadow's turn he didn't even spare a glance at the tablets placed into his hand, throwing them into his mouth as quick as he could and swallowing without any water. Manic always gave him an odd look when he did this but the ebony hedgehog couldn't care less what the other male thought of him. Walking down the hallway to the computer room in the hopes of getting ahead in his Ancient History assignment on the Mobian uprising against humans nearly 10,000 years ago. Before the uprising, both species had lived segregated from each other and committed vicious hate crimes as well. The uprising was the landmark point in their history where humans and Mobians moved into a co-supportive relationship with each other. Their assignment was to find 10 sources, six secondary and four primary and write a research log and 3000-word feature article on how this event has helped shape their society ( _This is stuff I actually had to do in school and it sucked Eggs!)._ It was due in two weeks and while the secondary sources were easy to find Shadow was struggling with finding one more Primary source.

Shadow found a computer tucked away in the corner of the room so that if someone else came in they would hopefully get the message and leave him alone. Scouring the internet was both frustrating and soothing at the same time. The repetitive motions of scrolling through articles, papers and lists of supposed artifacts kept his mind focused on the task at hand. However, with the knowledge that the inability to find the source would mean a lower grade had Shadow growling in frustrated anger as he lashed out striking the computer screen with a closed fist. The teen sat there breathing heavily for a moment, staring at the thankfully unbroken screen before he suddenly got the feeling that he was no longer alone. Turning found Sonic standing a few feet away with a tilted head and amused smile on his face.

"And why are you stalking me?" Shadow snapped. Sonic beamed at his words before holding out a new book for him. Ruby eyes blinked as he took the book labeled " _The history of human and Mobian relations"._ Shadow could only give a disbelieving huff looking up to question the younger male on how he knew he needed help on his assignment but the other hedgehog had already vanished from sight. It was a little creepy that Sonic could just show up without a sound and vanish just as quickly.

Inside the book, Shadow would find a primary source in the form of an ancient stone tablet written by a Mobian that detailed the attacks waged against the humans. He would go to bed that night wondering how Sonic knew to find this book but also wondering why the other hedgehog seemed to care so much. Those thoughts would grow when blood red eyes landed on the changing coloured cube the younger male had made for him two months ago.

"I want you to teach me sign language," Shadow said when Sonic let himself into the elder's room once again. Blue paused for a moment in surprise while Chaos lumbered over to sit by the small heater. Shadow watched as the boy's hands twitched by his sides as if they were about to sign a response before catching himself knowing Shadow wouldn't understand. Instead, he sent a questioning look at Shadow which had ebony scoffing in disbelief.

"Well, seeing as you've decided to inflict your presence on myself then I suppose we should be able to at least have a conversation." Shadow rolled his eyes while Sonic gave a breathy laugh. It was the most noise Shadow had ever heard from the younger teen.

Shadow wasn't sure if he wanted to learn sign language because the extra work would further distance his mind from troubling thoughts or if he truly wanted to be able to speak with the silent teen before him. In the end, it didn't matter because he threw himself head first into the work, sitting on the floor with Sonic every day as Blue wrote a word on a piece of paper before showing Ebony the sign for it. It was pleasantly surprising to find most signs were just common sense. Other's were difficult but with his thirst for knowledge and stubbornness Shadow pressed on till he was finally able to carry a conversation with his self-imposed shadow.

 _'I didn't expect you to learn this quickly.'_ Sonic signed three weeks after their first lesson. He still signed slowly for Shadow's benefit but he also wasn't signing as slow as he had been when they first started.

 _'It's not that hard. Most signs are pretty straightforward once you understand their meaning.'_ Shadow signed back. It was odd watching his hands form words without sound being needed to understand them. Sonic had told him he didn't need to sign back when they talked seeing how he could understand spoken words but Shadow insisted as it was good practice.

 _'I've tried teaching Knuckles and Tails a few times but they always forget after about a week. They don't practice like you do.'_ Sonic shrugged once his hands stopped moving. He then lifted a hand to pet Chaos on the head causing the massive dog to give a soft groan of happiness.

 _'Must be frustrating not being able to communicate with others.'_ Shadow frowned at the very thought of no one but a select few being able to understand him.

 _'It can be but I don't really mind too much. Tails is good at reading my facial expressions.'_ Sonic responded.

 _'Still must get lonely.'_

At this Sonic gave his famous silent laugh. _'I wouldn't say that. I have Chaos and the staff to talk to and I have you now.'_

Shadow blinked, startled that anyone would find comfort in being able to talk to him of all people. The last person to do such as thing was…A shake of the head chased away the thoughts of flowing blonde hair and laughing blue eyes. Desperate to distract his mind Shadow's eyes landed on Chaos who was nosing at Sonic's face gently.

 _'What's the story behind him then? How'd you end up with a service dog?'_ He questioned.

Sonic shuffled a little, emerald pools gazing fondly at his constant companion who gave a soft grunt back. _'I got him when I first came here. I…I wasn't well. I kept getting night terrors and anxiety attacks and with me being mute I was practically friendless. Principal Max made the arrangements for a service animal to be given to me hoping it would help me. That's when I met Chaos and we've been best buddies ever since.'_

Shadow watched as the two friends cuddled up to one another. It was clear they shared a bond, one that went deeper than a dog helping its master. Shadow had seen the way Chaos would eyes all those in the room, placing himself between possible threats and his boy. Even when he wasn't wearing his vest that let him know he was working he was still obsessively possessive of Sonic to the point of not being a service dog but a guard dog.

 _'He sounds like a loyal friend.'_ Shadow finally settled on signing to the other hedgehog who nodded in agreement. Even with their new-found form of communication, there were times where Sonic still only used his body and facial expressions to speak for him. Shadow was fine with this, the silence a comfort at times.

They spent the rest of the afternoon playing cards and with Sonic trying to teach Shadow how to solve a Rubix's cube no matter what position the coloured sections were in. When that got old Shadow waved goodbye as Sonic left to find his own entertainment which could result in anything. Left alone Shadow sat in front of the mirror to continue practicing his signs, watching as his hands formed words that at times were so much louder than spoken words.

As Shadow predicted, about an hour later shouts could be heard from the hallway and common room as the sprinklers turned on. Manic could be heard shouting a few choice swears before he shouted Sonic's name while the other students made a mad dash to their rooms which thankfully had been spared of the impromptu rain shower. It was odd now that Shadow thought about it. Sonic was one of the kindest and gentlest people he'd ever met yet he was constantly acting out and causing trouble for the staff. The blue hedgehog had given the ebony male a brief glimpse into what had landed him in the facility. He had mentioned night terrors and anxiety attacks. It left a cold feeling in the pit of the elder hedgehog's stomach as he pondered on what could have caused such extreme reactions in his normally silent and cheery friend.

It's tempting to ask at dinner when Sonic plants himself in the seat next to Shadow, piling his plate full of mashed potatoes and gravy covered sausages. Shadow wants to know, wants to understand what could have happened to render a young boy mute. He wants to understand his new found friend and work out what goes on inside his head but doesn't want to possibly drive him away.

 _'Can you ask Rouge if she'll steal an extra dessert for me. The staff has banned me from having any for a week because of the sprinklers.'_ Sonic signed to him when he was sure none of the staff members were looking.

"Rouge, you up for a little inside job?" Shadow asked quietly. The white bat perked up, facing lighting up at the very thought of swiping something.

"What's the target?" Was her eager response.

It had Shadow rolling his eyes at her behavior. "Just a dessert. Sonic had been put on a no sugar diet after dinners for a week cause of his latest stunt."

Rouge turned her eyes onto the younger male who just smiled innocently at her, one hand reaching behind him to pet Chaos on the head. "You got yourself a deal sugar but only because you didn't set the sprinklers off in the girl's dorm. If you had it would have been a different story."

 _'I don't have a death wish, of course, I wouldn't set the sprinklers off in the girl's dorms.'_ Blue hands moved on instinct but Rouge could only smile weakly as she was unable to understand what the different signs meant. It had Sonic pausing in realization before he lowered his hands and gave a small smile in return.

In that moment Shadow suddenly realized just how isolated the other truly was. Sure he was surrounded by his peers daily but with the clear language barrier between 90% of them, Sonic was left on his own because of it. He couldn't tell them of his problems, couldn't go to them for help with an assignment and couldn't join in the conversations they all shared. His voice was most often left unheard because no one could be bothered to understand the language of his hands.

It was lying awake at 2 in the morning that helped make up Shadow's mind. He needed to help Sonic the way the younger boy had been helping him. He needed to help him be heard so that he would no longer be left behind in the background. He was going to get Sonic to speak even if it was the last thing he ever did.

 **So Shadow has a new mission, operation get the faker to take has been deployed. Now I know some of you have requested that Shadow interact with the other characters and not just Sonic so don't worry, I have listened and we'll get to see more of the others in the next few chapters. Until then hope you enjoyed reading this one and see you next time**


	5. I'm tearing at these walls

**Yay! I got another chapter finished! I am really enjoying this story, more than I thought I would. As always I'd like to give a big thank you to ToxicSpeka, felixthecat123, Pamitydesu01, ShadowLvr15, The Namelss One and a Guest for your reviews. It's always so much fun reading what you all think and hearing some of your own ideas helps me to make this story even better. Anyways, enjoy this chapter and be sure to read my end notes for an exciting vote I'll be holding for the next chapter.**

"You look like him."

Shadow glanced up from his Math homework to see Silver standing by his chair. Surprisingly the white hedgehog was by himself when normally he'd be flanked by Blaze. Somehow the fire-obsessed cat seemed to have a calming effect on the delusional teen. To see him standing alone was jarring and a little worrisome. Still, Shadow had to admit that the other hedgehog wasn't bad. When he wasn't screaming like a loon or throwing things around the room at fictional adversaries with his powers he was actually a very gentle and decent person to be around.

"Who do I look like?" Shadow asked.

"The devil, the one who follows me around and tells me to do the bad things." Golden eyes glanced at something over Shadow's shoulder but the elder teen didn't bother looking as he knew he wouldn't see anything.

"Does this bother you?" If looking like the evil thing that sent the other into screaming fits was bad then Shadow didn't want to stick around and see how bad it could get. Surprisingly Silver frowned and shook his head.

"It doesn't bother me, no. It actually helps I guess. You look the same but he's blue where you are red and he doesn't have a mouth so I can tell you apart. When I look at you I can focus on reality and the good side and not the bad." Silver admitted with a shrug. "I just thought I'd tell you."

"Thanks then I guess," Shadow muttered back awkwardly. Looking back at the homework assigned to them Shadow scowled. He hated trigonometry almost as much as he hated Scourge when he was having a bad day. He just struggled with the formulas and understanding convert between radians and degrees.

"I can help you with that if you want." Ruby red eyes glanced up again to stare suspiciously at nervous gold ones. Silver was fidgeting again, hands rubbing together at a hurried pace while he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. Silver was a loose cannon, constantly teetering on the edge of absolutely losing his shit. However, he was also the best at Math's in the whole school so, in the end, Shadow didn't have much to lose.

"I'm struggling with questions 10, 11 and 13." He muttered which in turn was the invitation Silver needed to sit down beside him.

"Those ones are a little tricky at first but once you understand that basic formula you can get through them pretty easily. Here, let me draw it out step by step for you."

Maths was calming to Silver. That's what Shadow realized about an hour later. During the whole period of Silver helping him understand different questions and formula's, not once did the white-furred male jump at random intervals or mutter to something only he could see. Maths was the grounding point the other needed to stay sane. While most found frustration in the complex problems and rules Silver found safety and peace.

"Where's Blaze?" Shadow asked after Silver had finished explaining a really complicated formula in a way that made it seem much easier than it was.

"Oh, she started a fire in Art this morning. That's why we all have this surprise study break period. She's being kept in the Principles office until Sally can get here for a session with her." Silver said while using his telekinesis to make some of the pencils on the table float in lazy circles.

"Fair enough then." Shadow shrugged, after all, setting things on fire or blowing them up was a common occurrence around here.

"I should probably go and check on her. It was nice talking to you." Silver muttered as he stood from the table.

"Yeah…thanks for the help." Shadow didn't look at him and Silver didn't respond back. It was odd having others offering their help to him so Shadow tried not to mention their help too much. Part of Shadow wished they wouldn't offer the help at all while a smaller part, a part that clung to the memories of a blonde haired girl rejoiced at the friendships that were springing up from these interactions.

(Line break)

"You haven't been writing in your journal," Vector noted during their next group therapy session. Sally was outside with Blaze having a quick discussion with the young cat before she started the session.

"It's a pointless exercise." Shadow snapped back from where he lay sprawled across one of the armchairs.

"I don't know. I mean I didn't want to do it in the beginning but after writing down how I was feeling after a bad day I noticed it was easier to fall asleep." Vector said softly while his headphones echoed with a loud song that was playing. "That and Sally won't like that you haven't done it."

"Like I care about what she thinks."

Vector looked like he wanted to keep pushing the issue but thankfully Sally chose that moment to re-enter the room with Blaze causing the crocodile to fall silent. Espio, who had been sitting beside Vector in silence the whole time sent the ebony hedgehog a side glance before turning his attention back to their teacher/therapist. Shadow had the sudden urge to throw something at the other male but refrained from doing so.

"Well," Sally began. "Normally I would say its good to see you all but a lot has happened in the last week and not all of it has been good."

"Maybe not good for you but I think it was an amazing week." Knuckles declared proudly which in turn had the chipmunk sending him a disapproving look.

"Yes, punching a fellow student in the jaw because he didn't want to share his pencils is most certainly something to be proud of," Sally spoke in a low tone, her gaze never wavering as Knuckles flushed almost as red as his fur. With the Echidna properly reprimanded, Sally turned her attention to the rest of the teens. "Now, from what I've seen and been told you've all gone backwards in the last week. Anyone care to tell me why?"

"Was bored," Rouge mumbled into her arms.

"While that may get you an easy pass here Rouge, out in the real world if you steal just because you are bored you'll be sent to jail. You're here to stop these impulses, not fule them." Sally clearly wasn't holding back today. The white bat refused to make eye contact which let Shadow know that Rouge at least felt some remorse for her actions.

"It was just a dessert." The argument was weak at best as the fight seemed to have left Rouge the moment Sally had opened her mouth.

"You steal one thing and it will lead to another." Sally reminded her before turning on the rest of the group that had slowly begun to try and make themselves appear smaller so as not to attract the chipmunk's attention. "What about you Tails? Care to tell me why you thought it would be a good idea to set off a flash bomb in the middle of science when everyone around you was conducting an experiment involving acids?"

The young fox scowled while his namesakes fluffed up in agitation. Shadow wondered briefly if he still had an extra flash bomb on him and if they were about to see the bright light once again. Thankfully though Tails either didn't feel the need to cause more mayhem or he didn't have one on him. "I don't like it when Mister Charles uses my birth name."

"And instead of speaking up and requesting in a civil manner for him to use your preferred name you decided to endanger the rest of your class to express your dislike?" Once again Tails scowled, refusing to say any more on the matter. To most, it would seem a lost cause but Sally knew that the silence meant she was getting through to the young fox. "I don't know why you all have been acting out this past week but it's going to stop right now. We are trying to help you so that when you leave this place you'll be able to enjoy a normal happy life. We cannot do that if you refuse to listen and accept the help."

"Well, maybe we don't need or want your help." Shadow didn't know why he spoke up. All the teen knew was that his insides felt like they were growing tighter and tighter by the minute and by speaking up he could somehow lessen the strain they were under.

"It's because of that attitude that you've been placed in these group sessions Shadow. You don't seem to understand that this is all for your own benefit. You keep saying how you want to leave this place but the only way to do that is to accept the help and show us that you can and will improve." Sally stated which just had the tight feeling grow stronger.

"Yeah well, I don't need you all to tell me day after day that I'm troubled and in need of guidance. You want to help me? Then how about actually trying instead of drugging me half the time." Shadow snarled. The other teens had all grown still, heads jerking between himself and Sally as if they were watching a tennis match. They were all waiting to see which of them would snap first, which would tip the other over the edge.

"The medication is meant to help you," Sally argued.

"Then why am I still here then? Why are we all still here then?" The pressure was building. Shadow could feel his skin crawling with the need to just lash out and hit something. He couldn't understand why he was suddenly so angry. Sure, he'd been frustrated but this? This felt so foreign and alien to the ebony hedgehog yet he couldn't seem to get a grip of his emotions and just calm down.

"Shadow you need to take a step back right now. I can see your frustrated and I understand that but you need to understand we only want what's best for you." Obviously, Sally wasn't as blind as first thought if she could see Shadow was near his limit. In the end, though it was too little too late.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!" Feeling the snap was both relieving and terrifying all at once. When Shadow heard those words he'd felt the pressure each boiling point as it all rushed to the surface to explode out of his body. Images of a kind-hearted girl being shot without reason filled his mind's eye as Shadow launched himself at Sally. She barely had time to scream, before his hands closed around her neck as they fell to the floor.

Silver was screaming while smacking the side of his head. Blaze was shouting 'Burn her' at the top of her lungs while Mightly began to hyperventilate while continuously pressing the red button that hung from around his neck. Vector had turned his music up as loud as it would go and had curled up on the couch with his eyes closed while Espio watched the whole thing with an indifferent look. Knuckles, Rouge, and Tails looked like stunned fish, rooted to the spot and not knowing what to do or how to help. Throughout it all Shadow continued to strangle Sally while shouting jumbled up words into her face.

"Fuck you understand? Did you watch her die? I hate you! You're a fucking lier you god damn bitch!" His skin itched and tightened over his bones with the need to hurt. He would have continued to squeeze the life out of Sally if a heavyweight didn't slam into his side, knocking him off of the woman and pinning him to the floor. Shadow screamed up at Sonic who was pinning him down, straddling his legs and using his arms to hold the elder males own arms down. Chaos bounded over, laying himself over Shadow's chest and placing his head under ebony's chine where he gently licked at his face. Without knowing why Shadow felt his body starting to relax under the pressure and weight of the two silent companions he'd made. The anger, frustration, and itchiness left his body leaving him exhausted and drained.

The door to the room flew open suddenly as Manic, Principal Max and Charles barged in looking ready to take on the worlds worst evil. The three of them paused however when they took in the scene, unsure on what to do next until Sally gave a strained wheeze.

"Get her to the medical bay right away," Max ordered to which Charles and Manic rushed forward to help carry the near unconscious Sally away. Behind Max stood Vanilla and Hope, both looking stressed and concerned. Max ignored them in favor of looking at the two hedgehog's still lying on the floor. Sonic was no longer holding Shadow's arms down but he was still sitting on his legs while Chaos had made himself quite at home on the darker males chest. The other students were still looking shaken however which was Max's next priority. "Vanilla, Hope, get the kids down to the staff room and help them all calm down. I'll stay here with Shadow and Sonic."

The staff moved quickly, extracting the students they needed to from the room and leaving Max with the two hedgehogs and one dog.

 _'Care to explain what happened Sonic?'_ Max signed. The blue one wrinkled his nose, emerald eyes glancing down at Shadow who was breathing in slow deep breaths while Chaos nuzzled his chine.

 _'He had a bad day.'_ Sonic signed back causing Max to give a long-suffering sigh.

"I don't think a bad day justifies why my daughter was nearly killed by a student." The elderly chipmunk growled and Sonic gave a soft half smile.

 _'A lot of things aren't justifiable in this world yet they still happen. Besides, Chaos and I had it covered.'_

Max glared at his most troublesome student before once more looking down at Shadow who had remained silent the whole time. He did look much calmer than he had a few minutes ago and Chaos had stopped his licking which meant he was at least no longer experiencing distress. It had Max pausing for a moment as he observed the calming effect Chaos had on Shadow.

"Mister Doom," Max spoke up which in turn had Shadow glancing up to look at him. "How would you feel if we were to make a request on your behalf for a service animal?"

Shadow blinked in astonishment. He tries to chock out a teacher, the Principles daughter no less and they want to give him a pet? He opened his mouth to say just that when Chaos gave a soft huffing sound and flopped his head down onto his upper chest. The animals' presence was soothing now that Shadow thought about it and Chaos had helped him calm down from the uncontrollable rage he'd been feeling. Perhaps having a service animal of his own wouldn't be such a bad idea in the long run.

"I don't care." Ebony shrugged as much as he could while being pinned to the floor by a happy Irish wolfhound and teenaged hedgehog.

"We shall look into the matter then and get back to you on it. However, for now, I'd like you to accompany me to my office where we will discuss your punishment. Sonic, you should head back to your room." Max nodded his head to the young blue hedgehog who just smiled and quickly sprang to his feet, Chaos hot on his heels as they both bounded down the hallway. "And no funny business either young man!"

Shadow sat up and stared at the elder male who gazed at him sternly. It left Shadow feeling much like a small child who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "I still don't think this was entirely my fault."

And Shadow would stand by that statement because honestly, these people were working in a facility with a multitude of kids with different issues and problems. Did they honestly think there would be no incidents? If they did then Shadow wondered if he and the other students were really the insane ones.

 **As you can see Shadow will be getting a service dog of his own an I'm leaving it up to all of you to decide upon which dog he gets. Your options are as follows.**

 **Solaris = white husky  
Gia = dark grey Grate Dane  
Hazard = St. Bernard**

 **Vote in your reviews or send me a PM with your vote. The winner will be announced in the next chapter. Until then see you all next time, Ethan out!**


	6. Bring me down, sooth my fears

**Yo! What is up? Ethan here! Sorry for the wait but things have been crazy around here. For one thing, at my new job I work the floor at a cinema meaning I take people's tickets and clean theaters, you know the fun stuff. But like a few days ago on like my fifth shift ever we had a massive power surge and all the theaters except for one were down meaning I had to deal with some really unhappy people. I mean, the way some of them carried on they made it seem like** ** _I_** **caused the power surge. Some people need to learn to chill.**

 **Anyways, huge thank you to Quantum27, Musiclover435, Mitha Sentro, ToxicSpeka, felixthecat123, IsdR2017, Pamitydesu01, Anonymous Guest, Blazepyro, Mausekeks, and Megaman07. Holy crap that was a lot of people!**

 **This chapter is a little short and I apologize but hopefully the next one will be longer. Until then, see ya!**

Two days after the incident Shadow found himself being woken up by an energetic ball of blue fur bouncing up and down on his bed while a wet slobbery tongue licked at his face. Shadow sat up with a loud yell sending Sonic tumbling to the floor with a wide-eyed expression of shock while Chaos gave a loud bark of what Shadow could only assume was amusement. It was odd to think a dog could express such an emotion but right now it was irrelevant in the face of his annoyance at having been awoken so early for when he glanced at the clock Shadow was dismayed to see it was 6:00 AM in the morning and on a Saturday no less.

"Do you two have any idea what time it is?" Blood red eyes glared into Emerald green. Sonic for his part smiled his best-winning smile while shrugging. "Sometimes I wonder if you even sleep."

 _'I sleep! Just not for very long.'_ Blue signed to Ebony who sighed tiredly.

"Of course you don't sleep for long."

 _'It's the ADHD. My minds constantly moving and thinking, makes it hard to relax enough to actually fall asleep.'_ Again, Sonic looked as if this little bit of information didn't bother him but Shadow wondered how hard it must be to be unable to fall asleep even when he was tired.

"Be that as it may, what is the reason for this early wake-up call?" Shadow asked instead of mentioning his discomfort towards the response of the other. It seemed to take Sonic a moment to remember his reasoning, his constantly racing mind having already gone off on a new tangent and thus struggling in going back to what had originally held his focus. When it did seem to come back his eyes lit up with excitement as he resumed his bouncing.

 _'Max wanted me to get you cause the agency that provides service dogs has three potential dogs for you to meet. Max wants you down in reception as soon as possible.'_ Blue signed almost too fast for Shadow to understand. It was a good thing he'd been keeping up with his practices in sign language or he'd just left standing there dumbstruck. Sonic had grabbed his hand, tugging him excitedly out of the room and down to the reception area where Max stood waiting for them. Shadow suddenly noticed how Chaos was not bounded along beside Sonic like an overgrown puppy. The Irish Wolf Hound was wearing his dark blue vest that read 'service animal, please do not touch' which meant he was in full working mode. It wasn't often Chaos wore his vest, even in class Sonic didn't often put it on seeing how Chaos was very familiar with him. However, they would be leaving the school today and going out into public. The vest would let civilians know what Chaos was and to not touch and distract him.

"I hope he didn't cause too much trouble in waking you," Max muttered softly which had Shadow sending him a narrowed eyed look. Part of the teen had a feeling Max knew Sonic would wake him up in an unsavory manner which is why he sent the hyperactive hedgehog up to do the job. "There is a car waiting outside for us. It will take us to the shelter where they provide Service dogs."

As Max spoke he handed Shadow some paperwork, one of which had a signature Shadow recognized. Gerald Robotnik's signature sat at the bottom of the paper given his permission to have Shadow own a service animal. See the man's signature sent a pang of guilt and longing through Shadow's very core. The elderly human had been good to him, taking him in when he was but a cub when his father had abandoned him after his mother's death. Shadow didn't expect anything less from Gerald though seeing how he'd taken in his granddaughter.

"Let's just get this over with." Shadow huffed before memories of blonde hair and blue eyes could take over his mind.

It was odd being outside of the Institute after spending so long inside its walls. Shadow half expected people to point at them, to recognize them for what they were or for the people to appear strange in their own activities and movements. What Shadow saw was perfectly normal people who look back at the little group and saw in their eyes a perfectly normal gathering of Mobians. It was jarring, to say the least.

Pulling up to a large building Max ushered them from the car and the ebony hedgehog noted how Sonic was suddenly holding onto Chaos' lead with a white-knuckled grip. The dog was also standing in a much more rigid manner, eyes seeming to scan all around them for possible threats. It suddenly occurred to Shadow that maybe Sonic wasn't in the Institute just for ADHD and being mute. His reaction to being out in a public place wasn't normal and even how Chaos was behaving tipped the elder male off to something a little deeper going on. Now wasn't the time though for Shadow to go digging.

Inside the building, they were met by a kind human woman who took the paperwork that Shadow had signed on the way there before giving it the stamp of approval. They all moved to the back of the building where three cages sat.

"These are the three dogs we have for you to look over. See how you feel around them, how they interact with you and then you can make your decision." The woman said before leaving them alone. Max thanked her as she left before facing Shadow who was eyeing the cages warily. "I'll be outside if you need me, take your time."

When it was just the two teenagers and Irish Wolf Hound Shadow suddenly found himself feeling unexpectedly nervous. There was no reason for his nerves and left him feeling like a stupid little kid. A gentle nudge from Sonic finally got him moving towards the first cage, his steps cautious and slow before peeking curiously inside. The cage was huge and for good reason for standing at attention was a massive dark grey coloured Great Dane. The animal was impressive, standing eye level with Shadow which is what put the hedgehog off. While the canine, _Gia_ the nameplate read, seemed like a gentle giant Shadow didn't feel comfortable with a dog the same height as himself.

Ebony moved on but not before giving the dog a comforting pat on the head. the next cage was also large yet not as large as the first. Inside Shadow was met with warm brown eyes that sat in the face of a St. Bernard. Another large dog that looked like it was just a big pile of fluff, Shadow felt his heart melt slightly at the sight of it rolling around on its back like it didn't have a care in the world. This one was a definite maybe. Glancing at the name tag showed it was called Hazard, a curious name though Sonic's own service dog was called Chaos.

Shadow also gave the St. Bernard a pat before walking up to the last cage. This one was the smallest yet it seemed to house the dog with the biggest personality. While the first two had simply looked at him this one came bounding up to meet him. Shadow blinked at the pure white Husky that was panting before him, its eyes a startling sky blue. The wolf-like dog gave an excited bark, pushing its head up against the wires to try and get to Shadow who was quick to stick his hand through the gaps. Instantly the teen's hand was under attack from happy licks causing soft giggles to slip past normally frowning tan lips.

"Your certainly a character," Shadow commented as he moved his hand to scratch the animal behind the ears. The Husky gave an excited bark, its eyes seeming to light up with joy at the simple contact. Shadow laughed before glancing down at the name tag. "Solaris huh? Quite the name you've got."

A sudden presence at his shoulder had Shadow turning to see Sonic standing beside him, the younger male absolutely beaming at the white snowstorm that was Solaris. Chaos had also stepped forward, extending his nose in greeting that Solaris was quick to imitate.

 _'He's very gentle despite his energy.'_ Sonic signed to which Shadow nodded in agreement.

"I like him." The darker male muttered, his hand buried deep in the fluffy ruff of the Husky.

 _'Then he's yours.'_ Sonic was smiling, Solaris and Chaos were getting along great, and Shadow felt his frazzled nerves just settle as a feeling of contentment washed over him. It had been so long since he'd felt this calm which was what let the troubled teen know that Solaris was the dog for him.

Walking out of the building holding the lead while Solaris walked calmly by his side, Shadow felt like nothing could touch him. The Husky brought a sense of security and control that had been lacking from his life in recent weeks. It suddenly made sense why Sonic and Chaos were so close. Solaris was helping Shadow have his sense of control back and in return, he provided the dog with a purpose and companionship. It was a co-dependent relationship that worked perfectly. The whole ride home Shadow finds himself constantly reaching out to gently pet Solaris who responds with a calm lick or happy huff in return. While wearing his working vest Solaris is the perfect service dog and Shadow couldn't ask for more.

When they get back to the Institute Sonic invites himself up to Shadow's room, both dogs no longer wearing their vests and happily playing together. Sonic is alternating between doing his Chemistry homework and fiddling with an old mobile phone while Shadow just sits back and breaths in the calmness that is now his life.

"Thank you." He's not sure what he's thanking Sonic for and neither is the blue hedgehog but the younger smiles anyway, his hands remaining still as signs are not needed to convey what he's trying to say back.

Solaris helps to keep Shadow grounded, helps him to have control and security. Sonic balances him out. He's not sure when or how the blue one became such an important part of his life but he has. Its this revelation that strengthens Shadow's resolve to get the other to one day speak without the use of his hands.

 **So as you can all see, Solaris won in the vote. The end results were Solaris: 7, Gia: 0 and Hazard: 3. Lots of people love their Huskies! I mean who could blame them? Huskies are just so cute! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter even though its short and I will see you all next time!**


	7. I have my reasons

**Hello everyone, Ethan here and sorry for taking so long to get this chapter up and running but I just recently enrolled in an online course and AHHH! My time table for the next 2 years sucks! I have to study 20 hours a week! Not to mention go to work on top of that. Why does it have to be so hard to get into the animal industry! Also I was volunteering at the animal park I go too today and it pissed down with rain and I got drenched! Fun times for me all around. I did get to see a baby koala though so that made it better.**

 **Anyway, on with the show!**

Tails hated his name. It would sit heavy on his tongue when introductions were made and cling to his shoulders like a dead weight for hours after. It was a name associated with painful memories and times when his twin appendages were yanked on and his small body was shoved to the ground. The anger had festered into something beyond the young kitsunes control, twisting his mind until finally, he'd planted that bomb under his school. Part of Tails is so relieved that the bomb didn't detonate while the other part, the part where the festering anger still sits hates that it didn't work. Tails had resented the whole thing though when he'd been sent to Emerald Institute, thinking he was being sent to a place where the locked young people up because they were seen as a danger to society.

What Tails found was not what he'd expected. Sure, there were stricked regulation put in place he had to follow but the other students weren't instantly horrible to him. They were the opposite, in fact, welcoming the angry fox kit in with open arms. Knuckles especially took a shine to the young genius, planting himself into the role of best friend almost straight away. Ray and Mighty would share their own experiences with bullies to him while Rouge and Blaze would help to sneak him extra desserts or electrical gadgets he could take apart.

Sonic was a can of worms Tails wasn't sure he was ready to open yet. On the one hand, the blue hedgehog was incredibly smart, maybe even smarter than he was when it came to inventions and maths. He was gentle and looked out for Tails when the teachers wouldn't seem to see when he was having a bad day. All of these things made the elder male a good person in the kitsunes eyes. However, Sonic could be vindictive to those that had wronged him, frighteningly intelligent when he wanted to get his own way and had proved that some of his inventions could cause serious damage if he wanted them to. What made it all the more difficult was that the hedgehog was mute by choice so Tails never knew what reasonings the hedgehog had for some of his actions. He was an unknown variable, uncontrollable and unpredictable so Tails was hesitant to get too close.

"That better not explode." The vulpine jumped at the sudden voice, eyes turning from the little gadget in his hand to the ebony male standing beside him. A sudden wet nose was in his face shortly after causing Tails to give a startled cry before chuckling, shoving Solaris away with a small smile. The husky has quickly become just another part of the large extended family that was the student body.

Now free from being licked to death, Tails looked up at Shadow who was eyeing the gadget Tails still held warily. It had a small smile appearing on the kitsunes face as he gently set it down on the table. "Don't worry, I haven't made an explosive for a while and don't really want to."

"That's good to hear then," Shadow muttered while sitting down, one hand resting on Solaris' back. "So what does it do then if it's not an explosive?"

That had Tails pausing for a moment. Normally when people found out the thing he was making wasn't dangerous they left no longer interested. The only ones to actually bother were Knuckles but he would eventually lose interest as well, and Sonic but he couldn't communicate with Tails so it lost its meaning after a while too. Looking at Shadow, however, showed a genuine interest in what he was doing which filled the younger male with something he hadn't felt in a long time, pride.

"It's an electromagnetic force field. When I finish it I'll be able to make a field of energy around myself that will stop small projectiles." Tails explained in a small voice, looking up and expecting to see the normally board expression on Shadow's face. Much to the kits surprise, however, Shadow was staring at him in shock and slight awe, ruby eyes glancing down at the little device he held.

"They weren't kidding when they said you were a genius," Ebony muttered causing gold to flush crimson.

"I-it's not that great. So far I've only managed to make it stop stuff like pencils and little rocks." Tails ducked his head.

Shadow watched, eye ridges pulling down into a frown at the youngers self-doubt. Deciding to steer the conversation away from such thoughts he opted for another question. "Why did you make it anyway? What's the inspiration?"

That had Tails blinking, eyes wide with shock before they filled with pride. "My Father, he worked for the military but got injured in combat. He got caught in an explosion and the shrapnel cut up his chest really bad damaging his lungs and heart. I thought if I made a force field then I could stop other soldiers suffering the same fate."

"That's…a really admirable cause." Shadow finally muttered which again had Tails flushing in embarrassment.

"It blew up in my face though. I landed in this place cause I let some horrid words some equally horrid kids said get to me. Now my Father probably won't ever want to speak to me ever again." That was the final reason for why Tails hated what he did at the school with the bomb. He'd let his dark thoughts take over and ruin the one good thing he had in his life. His Father was his hero, the man he aspired to be and now he was probably nothing more than an embarrassment to the man.

"That's bull." Shadow scoffed causing Tails to jerk his head up to stare at the other in shock. "I nearly choked a teacher to death a few days ago and yet my Guardian still signed the paper allowing me to get Solaris. Scourge tried to stab his father and yet I've seen him getting mail from the man. We've all done shit things kid, but only because we've gone through some shit things which people will take into account. Your father doesn't hate you so don't ever think that."

It seemed the little speech had taken it out of Shadow for Solaris was suddenly nudging him towards the door and back to his room where he could rest. Tails watched them go, his heart swelling with a new found hope that maybe he hadn't completely destroyed the connection he had to his father.

Shadow wasn't sure why he'd decided to approach the young fox Kit. Thinking back the ebony male thought that maybe it was because he looked lonely sitting in the common room by himself. Knuckles was on watch again for breaking a table in half during their History exam leaving the younger male to his own devices. Sonic tried to engage with the Fox but with the communication barrier, it made it very hard so Shadow had stepped up. The Kid wasn't too bad he decided, flopping down onto his bed while Solaris curled up on his own doggy bed.

Perhaps its was the silence or the stillness of the room but after lying there for an hour Shadow found himself driven back to walking the halls, desperate for something to distract himself with. That distraction came in the form of Ray and Mighty who were pouring over a collection of rocks the young flying squirrel had acquired over the years, Mighty listening with rapt attention while fiddling with the red button that hung around his neck. Shadow eyed the button, the same button the armadillo had been pressing frantically when he'd attacked Sally.

"What's the button for?" The two younger males jumped at his sudden voice, Ray looking one second away from passing out.

Mighty looks down at the button, face flushing slightly at being caught fiddling with it. "It's a panic button. My paranoia can cause severe panic attacks so the staff gave it to me. I just press it and it alerts the staff of my location in the building. Ray has one too but he keeps his hidden."

Service dogs and panic buttons. Group therapy and common rooms. Shadow hated that he was being forced to see things from a new perspective, to see that this place wasn't as bad as he first made it out to be. The staff did seem to actually care about the kids here unlike some other places. Shadow wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing in the end.

"Are you coming back to class soon?" Mighty asked.

Shadow had spent the last week since getting Solaris on suspension. In other words, he'd been training the dog up to respond to him and his tells on when he needed to be calmed down from an anger rush. While it had been nice spending so much time with the husky and with himself Shadow had to admit that he did miss being around the other students. They made the place interesting.

"I'll be back tomorrow. Max thinks I've learnt my lesson." Shadow shrugged, still shocked that the guy was letting him off so easy after attacking not only a teacher but his daughter.

"Y-y-your not t-the first student t-tp a-attack a teacher," Ray spoke up quietly.

"What do you mean?" Shadow asked.

"I-it's why M-Max is l-l-letting you off with a w-w-warning. He and t-the rest o-of the staff know t-the risks of w-w-working with k-kids like us." Ray stuttered shyly.

Shadow had actually never thought of it like that before. It would explain why no one else seemed to be angry about the whole incident. If this was a risk factor the staff was willing to deal with then they must be prepared and even experienced with cases such as himself and what he'd done to Sally. Again, Shadow wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. To know that these teachers were prepared for an attack from those they were trying to teach, it left something unpleasant sitting inside the ebony male's stomach. Why would anyone want that kind of job?

"Who are the other students that have attacked teachers?" The red-eyed teen asked.

"Well, there's Scourge for one. He's pulled knives on them before and got into a fistfight with Manic once when he refused to take his meds and Manic went to take away his Gameboy. Knuckles has punched a few and Vector once whacked Mister Charles with his tail. Oh, and Espio has put a teacher in the hospital once." Mighty listed off like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"The hospital!" Shadow felt his eyes widen in disbelief.

"Yeah. One of the night nurses accidentally snuck up on him and he flipped his shit. Grabbed their arm and threw them clean over his head into a wall. They had three fractured ribs and a dislocated shoulder." Mighty explained excitedly. "We all thought it was great because all the students hated that nurse and they never came back afterwards."

"I don't blame them." Shadow scoffed to which Mighty rolled his eyes.

"They know what they're getting themselves into. We're teenagers with mental problems, can't get more high risk than that." He joked.

"No, I suppose not." Shadow agreed.

Deciding to try and forget about acts of violence and his own guilty conscious Shadow inquired about the rocks the two friends had been looking over before his interruption. Shadow spent the rest of the day learning about different types of rocks and how different chemicals in the earth's crust could fuse and form precious gemstones. It was nice learning new things and making friends at the same time he thought, really nice indeed.

 **I had people asking for more Ray and Mighty so here they are! Hope you're all happy cause I know I am. Also poor Tails, why Am I being so mean to him? Little dude just wants to make his Dad proud and I went and made him a school hating little psychopath...guess that's just life then.**

 **Anyways thanks so much for reading this and I'll try and get the next chapter out soon. Feel free to send in suggestions too, they might just help me write faster and come up with new ideas**


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